What if: Judge visits Baratie after Big Mom's Incident
by MochiSoda
Summary: Even after Sanji's warning not to come near East Blue, Judge decides to visit Baratie and meet his competitor.
1. Chapter 1: Sanji is back

A wrinkled hand gently touched the boy's cheek that rest peacefully in an aged glossy paper which have been kept in his diary long enough for him to have difficulty in remembering as to when it was taken. Watery beads forming at the corner of his eyes as he reminisces the good days with the boy.

"Eggplant" He softly called the boy in the picture.

"I'm too young to be this sentimental, right?"

Then he felt a strong yet familiar presence quickly approaching his floating restaurant. He deeply breath to collect himself while wiping away the budding tears. He peeked at the window to see the new arrival and felt the commotion beneath his office. The approaching ship has not yet docked but the diners have left and steered clear in fear of getting involved as the owner of the ship was the headline of the news a week ago. While he counts the number of hands working around the sails of the docking ship, Patty, his assistant chef, had burst the door open pleading for instructions.

"Zeff! It's Germa. What do we do?"

"I'll be downstairs in any second. Bring out your best suit. Make sure Judge is entertained and no buts. You understand me?"

He sneered on Patty's wide opened mouth and headed out of the office without waiting for his companion's response.

A big silhouette, fit for a king, slowly entered the restaurant and was greeted by an awkward smiling fidgeting figure. His eyes scanned around the restaurant, checking every details and made a great effort not to comment on its emptiness before he looked down at the host and requested for Zeff.

"I do not plan on wasting anymore of your time and money. I would like to speak with Zeff. If you may please call him immediately."

"I'm sorry but the head chef is busy. If you wish to meet him, please have a taste of every dish that we have prepared." Then Patty, in his blue long sleeves with thin stripes underneath the black suit and the black tie, outstretched his arm guiding Judge to the table at the middle of the restaurant.

Once comfortably seated, Judge did not have to wait that long as the dishes, one by one, came bustling out of the kitchen. it was like an orchestra. With every flick of Zeff's finger, a tray goes out. The menu was well picked and planned, starting from the soup, fried rice and meat viands to desserts and drinks. Judge, in his surprise, cleaned every plate. He does not have a big appetite but today was an exception. He was thankful that he is enjoying exquisite foods without feeling bloated. He could not help but admit Zeff's talent is extraordinary and was glad that his son went under the chef's wings.

The kitchen door once again swung and an old crippled man came out with a tray. He proceeded to Judge's left side and offered a cup of tea before taking his seat.

"compliments to the chef" Judge greeted Zeff, making a toast with the tea.

"You should be proud. These are all Sanji's creation before he left." The chef confessed.

"I… did Sanji told you?" Judge hesitantly asked.

"No. He never mentioned anything about his past and I have no interest in opening Pandora's box but I see Lady Sora in him and you being here somehow confirms it. Am I right?"


	2. Chapter 2: Chivalry and Mission

_Lady Sora_. Zeff repeated the name in his thoughts. The familiarity of its name rings loudly in his ear but it landed at the tip of his tongue and has been racking his brain, trying to point where he had heard of it. The lady, in front of him, interrupted his thoughts with concern.

"Are you alright?" The lady in frilly light pink dress pressed his hand across the table. Her hands remained pale even after recovering from starvation. She must be from an aristocrat family where daughters are kept inside the mansion waiting to be wed to power and money. The peculiar thing about her is the way she covers half of her pretty face with her blonde locks.

"I got little distracted. sorry. who are you again?"

She beamed at him with a smile and replied.

"You can call me Sora." Zeff waited for more information but silence and her awkward smile blanketed the room. He only wanted to know their destination and the kind of person he's dealing with but it felt like his patience with woman is being tested.

"I'm Zeff, the captain of the Cook Pirates. Pirates we may be but we mean no harm. We were here for the loot, nothing more. As you may already know, we have taken the payment for the food. I have to warn you that I don't want a fine young lady like you to starve again to death after all my efforts. If you don't mind telling me your destination and if you have called for emergency that would be a great help to both of us."

"I understand." then she began to generally explain their situation. "I am to be wed to someone but we have to meet somewhere here in the North Blue. I couldn't tell you where for I'm not aware myself. They call to check on my location and only to be given instructions. I'm only assuming that we'll meet halfway. It is my fault that our food supply diminished quickly. I called for help 2 weeks ago and was instructed to wait for them here but it has been more than 2 weeks and I have no news from them. I couldn't even get through the line"

"I hate to burst your bubble, pumpkin but I have my doubts. If there's no call then they might have been swallowed by the sea or worse, abandoned you. I suggest that you come with us. Lucky for you that we've doubled our stock."

"Thank you for your concern but I have to wait. I need to meet them. Now that I'm recovered, I'll call them again and report what happened. You don't need to worry about me. We owe you big enough and I don't think I could repay your kindness."

"My conscience will kill me if I leave you here with your current situation. How about this? I stay here with my 2 comrades and let the rest of the crew restock on next island. They'll come back to me after 3 weeks. If there's no sign of your friend within those 3 weeks, you have no choice but to come and deal with me like real pirates we are."

Lady Sora felt helpless and could do nothing but to take Zeff's offer. She has to take care of her crew even though she was in a mission. Life is more important than mission but Life is the reason why she needed to succeed. She clenched her fist, hidden under the table, while smiling and saying these words. "It is an honour to meet such chivalrous man like you. Please take care of us."


	3. Chapter 3: Lady Sora in love

Calls couldn't get through and even mail birds did not come back. It is easy to notice Lady Sora's worries increase as days goes by. Every sunset, she would climb to the crow's nest and would stay there to watch glorious clouds turn orange pink as if the heaven blushes from her longing stares and would calm down when the day kisses its last minute goodbye to the starstrucked night. She would sadly look at the stars while calling it another fruitless day before climbing down to rest.

It has been 5 days since Zeff took over the galley and true to his character, the gentleman did not stick his nose in Lady Sora's affairs. All he cared is to make sure everyone is satiated. Zeff, who is feeling extra special that night, made an effort to uplift her spirit. He, without a word, courtly replaced her cleaned dinner plate with an edible fully bloomed cabaret rose in a large jello dew drop as dessert. Zeff confidently looked forward to her reaction but his grinning face suddenly washed with shock when she started sobbing.

"Lady Sora?" Zeff worriedly attempted to soothe her. She waved her hand to stop him while her free hand eagerly wipes her tears before she giggled at her own daftness and chokingly opened up.

"There's a boy I met once during my father's meeting. He was wearing a big top hat that covers almost his eyebrows. We were both too young to join and the garden is the only place where we could safely stay and play around. It is a little garden of red roses. Anything unusual would be easy to spot. He is one of the unusuals. A boy at his age would run and play but he sat there in the grass and made his own little world with a book on his hands. It felt dull with no one else to talk with. I had nothing to do but to explore the garden on my own and then this rose" Her finger pointing at the dessert. " surprisingly exact color. In a little garden of red roses. See the odds?…" She smiled while wiping the drying tears. "but it brought us closer. I couldn't remember if I was next to him and disturbed his peace." Then she cupped her face blushing. "It doesn't matter if he was looking at me at the corner of his eyes. I'm just really glad that he befriended me. He explained to me the possibility of it being different. So enthusiastic. Then he shared with me his world. I became curious. Hungry for knowledge. The next thing I knew I see everything differently. After that meeting, I never stopped thinking of him. I could say he is my first love."

"Then my father forced me to this marriage. It is my duty but I was deeply saddened with the decision. To prepare myself for this meeting, my father gave me a picture of my fiancé. He is wearing a big top hat." Tears streaming again. "Same eyebrows. It is him. I'm sure. He must have known that it is me. He is so sweet." She suddenly paused. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Did he sent you?"

Zeff, in a Grand Line's volatile weather of emotions, thought that this is the reason why he never liked the idea of tying the knot. He repeatedly explained to Lady Sora that their meeting was an accident until she gave up and accepted his excuse. In the end, Lady Sora enjoyed her dessert, wiggling in every bite and Zeff learned how they arrived in their situation and was now forced to teach Lady Sora the basic cooking.


	4. Chapter 4: Bink's Sake

Violence against women is one of Zeff's golden rules that he wanted to pass down to the next generation. Since the great age of pirates, this simple act was somehow taken for granted. As a chef with strong passion for cooking, his mentoring ways can be very expletively and violently strict. Putting these 2 things together are not good for Zeff's health.

His 2 comrades nervously watched their captain and Lady Sora prepare lunch. Whenever they would sense Zeff's rage leaking, they would loudly sing Bink's sake and gladly accept Zeff's diverted frustrations. Zeff was thankful with his comrades' kindness and would have wanted to compensate them with extra treat but with their crisis at hand, he could only pat their shoulders and offer a smile. Their silent communication only made them laugh at each other. Lady Sora, on the other hand, couldn't make any sense of their brotherhood but the song made her feel welcomed and belonged.

That day turned to almost 2 weeks, Zeff could see her big improvement. He noted that her good sense of smell and good palate had helped her learn quickly. His comrades could see more of his relaxed state but would still sing Bink's sake to tease and this would sometimes invite Zeff and Lady Sora to happily sing along.

Though Lady Sora has been smiling and enjoying Zeff's lively company, thoughts for her fiance have never left her. She tried to believe in her fiance and avoided any negative thinking but with days slowly went by, she is starting to lose hope. That night, she could hardly sleep. It felt like she's been lying down awake for hours when she's only been in bed for few minutes. She couldn't find her peace and staying in bed won't benefit her. She decided to take a breath and stretch her legs.

On her way to deck, she heard a faint melody. She turned around to determine its source but it stopped. When she resumed her walk, the melody came back, sending her shivers. She turned her head around and listened carefully. She would run back to her bedroom if ever the melody stops again but good thing, it didn't. She massaged her temple, ashamed for frightening herself of self-made supernatural being. She followed the music and found herself walking towards light-lit galley. She thought Zeff is playing a mini xylophone with his own rendition of Bink's Sake. It was slow and mellow like it was bidding farewell and yet grateful. When she entered the room, a small music box greeted her from the dining table while Zeff was doing the dishes, humming to the tune. As she sat in front of the music box, it stopped.

Zeff turned his head to Lady Sora and smiled.

"couldn't sleep? would you like hot cocoa or chamomile milk tea?"

"No, thank you. I'm good." She replied while turning the key to play the instrument.

"It's so lonely" She continued.

"What do you mean by lonely?" Zeff dried his hands.

"The music. It's like saying goodbye."

"I never thought of that. To me, it's calming."

"I see."

"Believe in him. He'll come. If not, there must be a reason. I have no right to judge him"

She chuckled and repeated "Judge" then she continued.

"To be honest, I thought it was you, saying goodbye."

"Gonna miss me, pumpkin?" Zeff huffed.

"Probably." She smiled.

"have it"

"pardon?"

"i'm giving that to you now. it's yours. play it if you miss us."

"Thank you. I never knew a pirate could be this sweet."

"Don't compare us with those scumbags" Zeff grunted.

"How I wish to have a son and be as compassionate and passionate as you. How I wanted him to be chef too."

"Just say if you want to adopt me." They both giggled.


	5. Chapter 5: Misunderstanding

Veins popped on Cook pirates that carried heavy crates, barrels and sacks of food on their backs. They lined up like ants and grunted and heaved as they crossover from Cooking George to Sora's ship through a wide sturdy wooden plank while balancing their weights, careful not to overboard, whenever waves hit the ships.

Zeff, from afar, watched as his crew transfer the goods when he overheard a worried conversation, not very far from him, between Sora's crew.

"Now what will happen to us?"

"Face the war alone, that's for sure."

"Do you think they really abandoned us?"

"That is possible. They are strong and feared kingdom after all."

"But weren't they defeated after 66 days of ruling? That's why they needed us. Right?"

"But that's 300 years ago."

' _66 days and 300 years? and feared? could it be?_ ' Zeff thought.

"Ugh. I don't want to think anymore. Why can't the government give us support? Where are the marines? We have strong connection but what's the point in that?"

"I've been thinking about that too. Maybe we should ask this pirate to help us instead? he probably has more fleet that we never knew… you know"

"Are you dumb?! Pirates are pirates. Nothing good comes from them and they could be part of this scheme to prevent the union."

"Zeff?" Sora called as she approached him while unknowingly interrupted Zeff from further listening to their chat. Just in time, the last barrel has been carried over to the ship's storage then Zeff turns to Sora and offer his hand.

"Are you ready?" Zeff asked. She reached his hand with hers before replying.

"yes and will comply to our agreement."

Zeff smirked and escorted her as they climb the plank and cross it. They were half way the plank when someone shouted from the crow's nest.

"Something fast approaching from the east!"

Zeff turned, searching for the unidentified thing. It was not hard to find. It looked like a bird gliding over the sea but leaves a trail of smoke and angry blast of waves, clearly caused by pressure.

Zeff gently tugged Sora to his ship for safety.

"Hurry. It could be the Germa." He made a mistake. He didn't think twice before saying those words. That name could jeopardize the trust that Sora has for him.

"Wait. How did you know Germa?"

"Guessed. overheard from your crew." then tugs Sora again but Sora tried to get her hand back.

"We need to get to my ship. It's dangerous to stay here. We are not sure if it's an enemy or your fiance."

Sora didn't say a word. She didn't know what to do. To her, Zeff seemed to genuinely care for them, a good samaritan. She was also careful and made a firm instruction to her crew before they set sail, doubting that they would carelessly leak any information. It's hard to suddenly doubt his intentions. She wanted to put faith in Zeff but she doesn't want to risk being a damsel in distress.

"Do you still trust me?" Zeff asked.

"I-I don't know."

"Please believe me." Zeff looked straight in her eyes hoping that the bond they had in those few days would get to her but Sora broke the connection and looked at the unidentified thing, hoping that it is her fiance.

"Captain!" another cry from the crow's nest.

Zeff could now figure that it is a human flying.

"I'm sorry" Zeff apologized and hurriedly carried Sora, against her will, in his arms which only made the flying man to make a loud sonic boom. Zeff ran and leaped to the deck. The flying man caught up with them and held Sora firmly before kicking Zeff off.

It went so fast and somehow baffled everyone who witnessed the happening but to Sora, due to her shock, the clock slowly ticked. From the moment both Zeff and the flying man locked eyes with each other, Sora felt Zeff has let her go, protecting her from getting hurt, as the man claimed her while Zeff quickly peeked at Sora with a smile before he was kicked and crashed to blocks of crate with flying debris.

"Don't you dare touch your filthy hands on her!" The man demanded.

Zeff coughed while he tried to stand up. The man put Sora behind him and confronted Zeff.

"Who are you?" The man asked.


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontation

Silence, nothing more. Only the wind, that passed through between two men, howled. Both eyes locked in all seriousness and haven't moved a muscle like predators lying in wait. Beads of sweat trickled down on Zeff's cheeks and could not tell if it does the same heat wave to the lean man, meters away him, who is more than half of his height and wore black armored suit with imprint of white double six, black helmet that covers half of the face but half of the golden brows and blue eyes are visible and a black cape that draped around the shoulders and long enough to cover the ankles.

He has no urge to answer the man who just barged in looking for a fight even though it was evident, by just looking at the technology used to fly, that the man is, with high possibility, a member of Germa Kingdom. He no longer cares if the man would treat Lady Sora the same gentleness that he did for his pirate blood is curiously rising at how notorious the Germa could be.

The armored man finally gave in. He is not the kind of person who will just wait for something to happen. If he needs to poke it to get a reaction, he will. He is an impatient man and likes to get results quickly. The moment he saw the jolly roger, he already formulated that Zeff is their enemy; a pirate sent to do their enemy's bidding. To him, pirates are nothing more than mindless parasites of the community, living to lie down on their beds and later on suck happiness to anything they would touch.

He discriminately and silently blames these pirates for causing his current misfortune. He has been aimlessly wandering the sea for a month or probably more, worried sick while searching for his missing fiance. No calls, no letters, no communication at all since even before Lady Sora could cry for help. He was sure there is an insider intercepting all of his efforts. He only hoped Lady Sora is well and alive. His only assurance of her wellness are the newspapers he received with no trace of her.

None of this would have happened if only his father was brave enough to move on to whatever he was grudgingly holding on against all the kingdoms with land. He felt ashamed on behalf of his father. He should be in the allied kingdom by now, asking the lady's hand for marriage like any normal prince and doing great progress in making Germa great again if only his father listened to him. Now, he doesn't know how to face his future father-in-law if anything happened to their daughter.

He felt great relief when he confirmed Sora was the lady being forced to board the pirate ship. He will surely make the pirates pay and betray those people behind them. The man drew a spear from his back and pointed the tip of the blade to Zeff before threateningly asked. "Hope you're not deaf. Choose your words carefully. Who are you?"

"I should be asking that." Zeff replied with a smirk, inviting the man to a brawl. Between men, fight is the quickest way to settle things as there are only winners and losers.

Zeff bravely charged the man without any weapon at hand which made his opponent raised his brow. However, Zeff's confidence did not falter his opponent and the armored man stabbed Zeff but Zeff quickly evaded and landed on the spear, running along to get close to the man. The man swept the spear, throwing Zeff away but Zeff came back to the man like a fly as soons as one of his foot touches the floor; he pushed himself back to air targeting the man's face. The man managed to block the kick but he did not expected a great strength coming from a small framed Zeff, scrambling to get back his balance. It was hard for Zeff to miss it. The incident is unusual for a lone fighting soldier but at the same time interesting. Zeff is a veteran when it comes to battle. He could tell immediately if his opponent is seasoned or not. His instinct tells him that the man is well trained but inexperienced. Zeff backed further away from the man, giving a small ceasefire before asking.

"Are you her fiance?"

On the other hand, Lady Sora had been muttering for the two to stop. She really wanted them to stop but her knees got weak and her pulse rings loudly in her ears. She panickingly clasped her hands together on her chest to get a grip of herself but she couldn't snap out of it. Her kind heart is not used to violence. She doesn't want Zeff to get hurt nor the mysterious man; She fears a meaningless blood spill.

She choked when she heard the word fiance but the man did not deny nor confirm it and just continued attacking Zeff. Her heart skipped a beat; She had heard rumors of her fiance from her father that the man is a peculiar prince. He is passionate to what he loves doing and she was happy that he didn't changed much from the kid, she remembers, in her childhood. If he was not a crowned prince, she believed he could be a well-known scientist. He would even get his hands dirty and even skip meals. It is one of her reasons why she wanted to learn to cook. She is now freaking and more worried as their fierce fight continues.

She groans and starts to cry out of frustration. She tried to go in between them, dragging her feet while speaking up; they didn't notice her. She groaned again and shouted 'stop' but they won't listen. Both men equally defended and attacked each other until the mysterious man got distracted with Sora's bawling. Zeff took the opportunity and swang his leg to kick off the man's head. Sora's eyes widened, her heart immediately flared. Without knowing, she trembled and roaringly shrieked 'stop'. Almost half of the bystanders collapsed, not sure if due to their severed eardrums. Both men's blood ran cold but it didn't stopped the mysterious man's helmet to whirl and slide on the floor.

The mysterious man was sure; It was conqueror's haki but he didn't expect it coming from the lady. Before he could drop everything and go comfort her, his helmet flew, releasing his damped bushy hair. He frantically covered his face with his hands and half knelt down in the process. It felt like Zeff knew and exposed his weakness. He jerked his head to both sides, searching for his helmet but it probably flew too far. He has no time to scurry around to look for something to cover his face as he doesn't want yet her fiance to get a glimpse of his curse. His curse is nothing to be compared to scars and birthmarks but it was inherited through generations.

To Lady Sora, Zeff had hurt the mysterious man. The impact was so strong that the man is in his knee. She hurried to the man and brought out her handkerchief in case of bruises but the man denied her aid, telling her that he's fine. Sora insisted and forcefully pulled the his hand away. Thanking the adrenaline rush, the man had quickly moved his free hand to his forehead, hoping she didn't notice anything unusual. Then he squeezed her hand assuring her with a smile that he is well and nothing to worry about. She was silent for few seconds, staring at his face, before she unfolded her handkerchief and wrapped it around the man's forehead. The man was surprised, not sure if she already knew his secret as he couldn't read her straight face and once she was sure that the man's forehead is well hidden, she took her time to look at the man's face. The man heard Sora's breathing staggered while her hand touches his cheeks. Her eyes began to water again and slowly wrapped her arms around the man's neck.

For a second, Zeff noticed the drastic change the man did on his face from surprised to a pervert then to a sorry lover. Their scene is too mushy for Zeff and could not bear to watch that he turned his back around.

"Judge" She said softly in his ear. Judge, the mysterious man, caressed Lady Sora in response and said.

"I'm here. I'm here and I'm sorry." He hugged her tight then continued.

"he will surely receive my justice."

Before he could stand up, Sora pleaded him to stop by tightly gripping on Judge's cape and explaining Zeff's innocence.

"No. He's my friend, Zeff. Even though he's a pirate. He's my friend. He's a good person. I'm begging you."

Judge won't simply let this down. She's too kind and trusting. She doesn't have any idea what the world has become after the pirates have invaded the seas. Well, it was not only the pirates. Anyone with ill intent is to be blamed. She should be cautious to anyone even to him. Compassion and kindness are worthless things to have. They are easy to be taken advantage of and for granted and mostly fooled and betrayed just like his forefather. He couldn't imagine how his forefather just died in his sleep while crying after only being heart broken.

"How can you be so sure?" He doesn't want to sound too harsh on their first meeting.

"How long have you been friends?" Then he caught Zeff taking a glimpse at them and now, Zeff stares back at him.

She couldn't answer Judge. She knows where it is leading. Even her, she had doubted him and she was not that happy to have let Zeff defend himself.

"Cooking and getting our hands full of treasures are the only things we know. We don't do kidnapping and we don't work for anyone. You already have her. Now off of my ship!" Zeff demanded.

Lady Sora thought that she might not be able to thank Zeff properly so she turned around and bowed down, thanking him. This made Judge irked upon seeing her act. A princess should never bow down to anyone as low as pirates but he has swallow a bit. He loves her. He won't dare scare her away. Not now. Not in their current situation. Not risking the honor of their families and of their countries. They have to get off his ship quick. It just pissed him more, the longer they stay, especially when Zeff airily waved his hand to dismiss the princess not even looking at her directly. He will surely come back after Zeff. Once he caught the rat, he will surely get him.

After months of private investigation lead by Judge, he had never caught the rat. He had to give up and focus more on important things. To him, Zeff is a nobody and he was sure they would never cross paths again.


	7. Chapter 7: I am his father

"Yes, I am his father." Judge looked down, avoiding eye contact and thanked the chef for his thoughtfulness.

"Thank you. This is my first time tasting any of his food." He remembered how he opposed his young son in cooking.

"I know."

King's eyes awkwardly wandered and noticed Zeff's wooden leg. He remembered how Sanji's fighting style resembles Zeff's. Zeff caught him eyeing on his leg and showed off his trophy.

"This is the price I get to have Sanji and I don't regret anything." Zeff stood proud and glaring at the king.

"I may have lost my powerful leg but I could still fight you off. If you ever hurt my son again, I swear I will find you and I will kill you."

"Son?" Zeff bit his lip for being careless again. He has gotten used to introducing Sanji as his son. Judge scoffed and agreed, trying to calm himself with silent grit.

"He is indeed your son and it hurts. I reap what I sow. There is no way that he will forgive and come back to me. I even broke my promise not to come here but I want to thank the person that gave him life that I should be providing."

"I believe you'll never understand what I've been through when I was a prince with an inheritance to the throne. I love all my children including Sanji. I just wanted to protect him. He was weak. Have you heard of a lion throwing his cub off the cliff to toughen it up? It's a misconception tale but I would do everything to do the same and rebuild my kingdom. I want him to be strong but I never expected him to put himself in danger with a bounty on his head. I don't trust his group of friends. If he could only see how weak they are. I admit it is wrong of me to force Sanji in that wedding. I just want assurance. I believe every parent wants assurance. Sora and I were in love and it was also a political wedding. So I did what I think is best." King tried to justify himself and Zeff almost kept his silence.

"All I could see is a blind man."

King thought that there's no point pushing his views to the man and he had fulfilled his purpose. It's time to leave. He took out from his pocket a small wooden wind up music box and put it at the table near Zeff.

"Do you remember this?"

"I gave it to Lady Sora."

"This is the only memorabilia I have from her. Sanji loves it and he may not remember but this lulls him to sleep. I have no right to keep it."

"Thank you I guess."

Judge stood up.

"This is what I came here for. Thank you for taking care of my son and for the food. You can come to my kingdom and visit Sora. She will appreciate it. I must go."

He hands a bag of gold beside the music box as payment to his meal before turning his heels to find the exit.

"wait!"

Judge stopped, not turning his head. He could hear wooden thumps nearing him.

Zeff grabs King's hand and returned the money with small paper.

"Don't worry. Tabs on me. I have prepared the same meals for your crew. I believe it has been delivered. That paper is a copy of Sanji's soup recipe. Keep it. Don't ask why bastard."

King grinned while patting chef's back like an old friend.

"I can't thank you enough."

"Sanji's happiness is the only way you can repay me. Children sure grow so fast." Zeff sighed and continued. "Now I feel even older with your sentiments. I blame you for this." He gently kicks Judge with his wooden leg and this only made the king snicker.

At the dock, they waved each other goodbye and it was the last they've seen each other.


End file.
